1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to the field of fire suppression systems. More particularly, this invention relates to fire suppression systems that suppress fires originating in vehicular and marine systems and particularly in recreational vehicles.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the fields of vehicular and marine fire suppression, it is well known that effectiveness and efficiency of operation are critical factors in containing and quenching a fire. The importance of such factors is enhanced when considering fires within marine and automotive racing compartments, as well as in recreational vehicles, where escape from an engulfed vehicle is typically unlikely or where there is the potential for a wider scope of injury such as in a marina or a multi-car collision. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,635, (“the '635 patent”), McLane, the inventor of the present invention, along with Michael Doty disclosed a novel fire suppression system for use in vehicular or marine environments. And, while McLane and Doty taught that their fire suppression system was capable of manual, electrical, pneumatic or thermal activation, or of activation by any combination of those methods, they did not disclose a system for providing electrical and manual actuation of the fire suppression system. And, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that it is often desirable to provide for both automatic actuation, i.e. actuation controlled by an electronic controller or processor in communication with one or more sensors, and manual actuation.
Other fire suppression systems are known in the art. Typical of the art are those devices disclosed in the following U.S. patents:
U.S. Pat. No.Inventor(s)Issue Date5,727,635Doty et al.Mar. 17, 19986,189,624JamesFeb. 20, 20014,423,784BolenJan. 3, 19844,265,316FeeMay 5, 19814,580,638Jones et al.Apr. 8, 19863,949,812HayApr. 13, 19763,986,560Heath et al.Oct. 19, 19764,026,465KennyMay 31, 19774,042,521DunnAug. 16, 19774,073,464Hansen et al.Feb. 14, 19784,109,726Hansen et al.Aug. 29, 19784,136,851Hansen et al.Jan. 30, 19794,217,959PoulsenAug. 19, 19804,224,538CholinSep. 23, 19804,227,577IidaOct. 14, 19804,256,181SearcyMar. 17, 19814,305,469MorrisetteDec. 15, 19814,313,501EckertFeb. 2, 19824,373,588White et al.Feb. 15, 19834,520,871Miller et al.Jun. 4, 19854,651,952TavanoMar. 24, 19874,664,199Grant et al.May 12, 19874,779,683EnkOct. 25, 19884,784,354TavanoNov. 15, 19884,926,815CowleyMay 22, 19904,936,388Le Lande, Jr.Jun. 26, 19904,953,624TurnerSep. 4, 19904,986,365ShiehJan. 22, 19914,995,355CowleyFeb. 26, 19915,016,715AlasioMay 21, 19915,048,791Ellison et al.Sep. 17, 19915,063,998QuinnNov. 12, 19915,425,886SmithJun. 20, 19955,463,926FaughnNov. 7, 19955,511,456FaughnApr. 30, 19966,029,751Ford et al.Feb. 29, 20006,128,904Rosso, Jr. et al.Oct. 10, 2000
None of these devices disclose an automatic actuation system that can be readily, easily and efficiently adapted to the actuation mechanism of the '635 patent.